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Marcus Rashford has hinted at a move away from Manchester United by saying he is "ready for a new challenge" after admitting it was "disheartening" to be dropped from manager Ruben Amorim's squad for Sunday's derby win against Manchester City.
Rashford, 27, and winger Alejandro Garnacho were left out of the squad for the 2-1 victory at the Etihad with Amorim explaining his decision by saying "the performance in training, the performance in game, the way you dress, the way you eat, the way you engage with teammates," were all key factors.
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Rashford's form this season has seen the forward lose his starting place in the first team and he has also had off-field issues in recent months, including being dropped by former manager Erik ten Hag for missing team meetings and training sessions. He was also omitted from an FA Cup trip to Newport last season after a night out in Belfast.
Amorim, who replaced Ten Hag as manager last month, made clear that both players would start this week with a clean slate, but Rashford has now spoken for the first time since being dropped against City and given a clear indication that he is ready to leave Old Trafford, almost nine years after making his debut as an 18-year-old.
"For me, personally, I think I'm ready for a new challenge and the next steps," Rashford told Henry Winter during an event at a school in Manchester. "When I leave it's going to be 'no hard feelings.' You're not going to have any negative comments from me about Manchester United. That's me as a person.
"If I know that a situation is already bad I'm not going to make it worse. I've seen how other players have left in the past and I don't want to be that person.
"When I leave I'll make a statement and it will be from me. It's disheartening to be left out of a Derby, but it's happened, we won the game so let's move on.
"It's disappointing, but I'm also someone as I've got older I can deal with setbacks. What am I going to do about it? Sit there and cry about it. Or do my best the next time I'm available."
Marcus Rashford began his career at United as an 18-year-old after coming up through the team's academy. Alex Livesey - Danehouse/Getty Images
Rashford signed a £325,000-a-week four-and-a-half year contract extension at United in July 2023 and would command a sizeable transfer fee should the club listen to offers for the player in the January transfer window.
Sources have told ESPN that there is no significant interest from the European market in Rashford and that the most likely destination in the immediate future would be the Saudi Pro League.
Despite having been produced as a home-grown player by United, Manchester-born Rashford has been the subject of criticism from the club's supporters, but he says that he is a "misunderstood" figure.
"I do feel misunderstood, but I'm fine with it," he said. "I'm a very simple person. I love football. That's been my life from the beginning.
"I'm halfway through my career. I don't expect my peak to be now. I've had nine years so far in the Premier League and that's taught me a lot, that's helped me grow as a player and as a person. So I don't have any regrets from the last nine years.
"I won't have any regrets going forward because I take things day by day and sometimes bad things happen, sometimes good things happen. I just try and keep a fine balance.
"I have my own dreams. I've achieved parts of it. But I'm not at where I want to be. But the problem is when you get there, you create another thing.
"It's a cycle that never stops. There's not really an end point."
United play Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday in north London in the Carabao Cup quarterfinals.